Posts Tagged: February 2024

UC ANR gives growing advice, discusses ag tech at World Ag Expo

Visitors to World Ag Expo on Feb. 13-15 in Tulare had numerous opportunities to meet with UC ANR scientists and staff to learn about their research and resources.

At a booth hosted by Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Lindcove Research and Extension Center and UCCE Tulare, employees and volunteers gave away UC Tango mandarins, which were grown at Lindcove REC, and invited visitors to examine insects and fungi under a microscope, wrote Ryan Puckett, staff research associate, in the Kearney News Updates blog.

UCCE citrus IPM advisor Sandipa Gautam; Joy Hollingsworth, table grape advisor for Tulare and Kings counties; Raymond Mireles, UCCE fruit and almond advisor for Fresno and Tulare counties; Jorge Angeles, UCCE weed management advisor for Tulare County; and other UCCE advisors answered questions about Asian citrus psyllid and other pest management concerns. UC Master Gardeners volunteers from Tulare County gave gardening advice. 

Across the street, Karmjot Randhawa and UCCE employees in Tulare County hosted members of the California State Board of Food and Agriculture.

Dairy presentations

For the dairy industry, several UCCE specialists and advisors gave talks about hot topics, sustainability and dairy calf management: 

• Jackie Atim, UCCE abiotic stress specialist based at the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, whose research and extension program focuses on sorghum grain and forage crops plant stress caused by drought, nutrient deficiency or salinity. 
• Rubia Branco Lopes, UCCE dairy advisor in Tulare and Kern counties, whose research and extension program focuses on the needs of dairy producers in the South valley with an emphasis on dairy sustainability. 
• Nicholas Clark, UCCE agronomy and nutrient management advisor in Tulare, Kings and Fresno counties, whose program focuses on improving crop nutrient use efficiency and promoting economically feasible pest management practices in dairy forages.
• Jennifer Heguy, UCCE dairy advisor in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Merced counties, whose research and extension focuses on improving production efficiencies on California dairy farms.
• Betsy Karle, UCCE dairy advisor in the Sacramento Valley, whose research and extension program focuses on calf raising, animal health and disease management and environmental stewardship. 
• Brooke Latack UCCE livestock advisor in Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, whose program covers all livestock production in the California desert, but focuses on production of dairy steers in feedlots.
• Deanne Meyer, UCCE livestock waste management specialist and coordinator of the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program's Environmental Stewardship module.
• Noelia Silva del Rio, UCCE dairy specialist based at UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, whose research and extension program focuses on dairy calf health, feeding management, lameness, transition cow management and postpartum diseases.  

A pen for your thoughts

The VINE also hosted a booth at the expo. The VINE staff invited visitors to share their views on agriculture's most pressing challenges on a postcard and gave them a VINE pen in exchange for their opinions. 

“The responses, as varied as the attendees themselves, offered a candid look into the future of farming through the eyes of those who live it,” wrote Hanif Houston, associate director of communications and marketing for The VINE.

“Concerns about the environment dominated the responses,” Houston wrote in The VINE blog post, where he lists other top concerns shared at the World Ag Expo.

Future of ag tech

While in Tulare County for the World Ag Expo, The VINE hosted its second VINE Connect meet-up on Feb. 14 at the local UC Cooperative Extension office. Representatives from Western Growers and robotics startups Blue White, farm-ng, Burro, Bonsai, Verdant and FarmWise participated in a panel discussion about agricultural technology for specialty crops. The discussion was moderated by Gabe Youtsey, UC ANR CIO and The VINE co-founder.

Panel members described some of the challenges of getting growers to adopt the new technology products and financial considerations of investing in agrifood technology. They also discussed the need for ongoing education and skill development for agricultural workers to adapt to new technology. 

Glenda Humiston, UC vice president for agriculture and natural resources, emphasized the importance of collaboration to advance agrifood technology. “We can't do it alone, and neither can you. Together, we can do amazing work,” she said. 

The next VINE Connect event will be held in Merced on March 6 at noon and focus on groundwater recharge innovations and partnerships between agrifood tech startups, UC researchers and farmers. UC Merced professor Thomas Harmon will talk about groundwater recharge in the Central Valley. To attend, register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-vine-connect-merced-tickets-831050292797.

 

 

Meet your Staff Assembly Council during Lunch and Learns at South Coast, Kearney, Hopland

Sessions include free lunch, brief presentation on Staff Assembly and a tour or hike

Your UC ANR Staff Assembly Council is hitting the road this spring!

All UC ANR staff are invited to meet Council members and learn about Staff Assembly and how we're working to elevate the employee experience through our Wellness Reimbursement Program, Educational Reimbursement Program, Ambassadors Program and more.

Plus, find out how you can join and support our team, and help your colleagues in those efforts!

The three in-person sessions, which each begin at noon and include a free lunch, brief presentation and an optional tour or hike, are:

March 28: South Coast Research and Extension Center (Irvine) - THANKS FOR COMING!

April 11: Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center (Parlier) - THANKS FOR COMING!

May 2: Hopland Research and Extension Center (Hopland) - REGISTRATION CLOSES APRIL 24

Lunch is provided, but staff will need approval from supervisors to attend and fund their own travel to and from the session.

Space is limited, so registration is required; please fill out this form to register.

Names in the News

Jegede joins UCCE as agricultural toxicology specialist 

Olukayode “Kayode” Jegede joined UC ANR on Jan. 2 as an assistant professor of Cooperative Extension for agricultural toxicology with the Department of Molecular Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Department of Environmental Toxicology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis. 

Jegede will be studying contaminants of agricultural importance in California, such as pesticides, metals, microplastics, veterinary pharmaceuticals, PFAS, fertilizers and their effects on humans, animals (including aquaculture) and environmental health of soil and plants.

“I will also be looking at various exposure pathways of these contaminants and interactions through food, water, soil and how climate change or other major environmental change events can influence toxicity of these contaminants and mitigation strategies,” Jegede said. “My research will also have a “one-health” perspective to it.”

Prior to moving to California, Jegede was a postdoctoral research associate at the Department of Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, Canada for a year before moving to Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands to work as a research scientist focused on terrestrial ecotoxicology.

His past research has examined the effects of metals, pesticides and mixture toxicity on soil biota (mites, springtails, snails, earthworms) and soil enzymes, related ecosystem service function and generating data for environmental risk assessment of metals and pesticides.

“I look forward to helping solve toxicology issues in California through research, advising on and promoting good health for everyone and everything connected to small and large-scale agriculture in California.” Jegede said. “I am opened to collaborations with researchers across UC ANR.”

He earned his Ph.D. in toxicology at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and bachelor's and master's degree in zoology at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.

Jegede is based at UC Davis and can be reached at ojegede@ucdavis.edu and (530) 752-1086.

Celio named program manager for Southwest Regional Food Business Center 

Tracy Celio has been named program manager for the Southwest Regional Food Business Center and will oversee the center's efforts across Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. The center provides direct business technical assistance, capacity building and coordination to small and mid-sized food and farm businesses.

Celio, who joined UC ANR in 2012, previously served in the Central Sierra as UC Master Gardener Program coordinator in El Dorado and Amador counties, working with volunteers to launch the UC Master Gardener Sherwood Demonstration Garden, and Heritage Rose and Community Garden. She also has served as an Americorps VISTA service member and United States Peace Corps volunteer.

She earned a bachelor's degree in social and environmental science from CSU San Diego. She is certified as a UC Climate Steward and a UC Master Gardener.

In her new role, Celio will focus on food security, program management and community engagement.

“I look forward to this new opportunity to build sustainable food systems with incredible partners across the region and hope it will be a model nationwide and beyond,” Celio said. 

Learn more about the Southwest Regional Food Business Center at https://swfoodbiz.org/programs. 

Volk joins UCCE as horticulture advisor for Santa Barbara and Ventura counties 

Emma Volk joined UC Cooperative Extension on Sept. 1, 2023, as the production horticulture advisor serving Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Volk's role focuses on solving issues affecting greenhouse and nursery production. Her work can focus on anything from water quality and nutrient management, to pest and disease control in controlled environments.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Volk earned a master's degree in horticultural science from North Carolina State University and a bachelor's degree in international agriculture and rural development from Cornell University. 

Volk brings experience in grapevines and strawberries. After graduating from Cornell, she was a full-time research assistant investigating how to produce strawberry plugs in a controlled environment. Her master's degree investigated soil steam disinfestation as an alternative to pre-plant fumigation in strawberry plasticulture systems.

In addition to her understanding of horticultural production, Volk's philosophy on education and extension will surely come in handy. Volk said that relaying scientific information in the simplest form is important because it allows everyone to engage with the topic at hand, from a backyard gardener to a grower who has been in the business for decades. 

As a UCCE advisor, Volk is interested in promoting sustainable pest management and improving irrigation practices. “I'm also looking forward to learning about the growers and how I can become one of their trusted partners,” said Volk.

“To get there, I can't rely solely on formal presentations to share scientific information. Everything before that point matters. I've got to be communicative and collaborative from the very beginning,” she said.

Now that she's made her way to California, Volk is learning to surf because “that's what you do when you live in Southern California.” 

Volk is based out of the UC Cooperative Extension office in Ventura County and can be reached at evolk@ucanr.edu.

Doris Calloway, who changed nutrition, remembered in series of articles

For Women's History Month in March, Doris Howes Calloway, who passed away in 2001, has a career worth exploring. The pioneering nutrition scientist who served as a researcher and administrator at UC Berkeley for 27 years is being honored by her students and fellow nutrition experts in a series of articles in the journal Nutrition Today.

Her first research job was for the U.S. Army, at the Armed Forces Food and Container Institute in Chicago, where in 1959 she won the first of many awards, a plaque naming her “Man of the Year” for research, according to a UC Berkeley news release. After a brief stint at the Stanford Research Institute, Calloway was appointed professor of nutrition at UC Berkeley in 1963 and retired in 1990. 

The most recent Nutrition Today article, “Doris Howes Calloway: Exceptional Role Model, Mentor and Humanitarian,” was authored by Mary Blackburn, UC Cooperative Extension health and nutrition advisor for Alameda County; Janet King, UC Berkeley Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology emeritus professor; Nancy Butte, Baylor College Department of Pediatrics emeritus professor; Suzanne Murphy, University of Hawaii Cancer Center emeritus professor; Allison Yates, retired USDA Agricultural Research Service deputy director for the North Atlantic Area; and Molly Kretsch, retired USDA Agricultural Research Service deputy administrator.

“Her memorable humanitarian spirit, compassion, sensitivity and the lens through which she viewed diversity, equity, and inclusion resonated with people worldwide,” wrote the authors of Calloway. “Her endearing personal qualities and professional ethics enhanced her stature as a trailblazing nutrition scientist, outstanding role model, exceptional mentor, and worldwide social justice benefactor in nutrition.” 

The series of nine articles begins chronicling her career with "Doris Howes Calloway—A Woman Who Changed Nutrition Around the World.” Subsequent articles focus on Calloway's research, the impact of her work at the time she published the findings, and the continuing influence they have on contemporary scientific discourse around human nutrition, dietetics and public health. 

The other articles are

• Doris Howes Calloway: A Pioneer in Human Nutrition Research. Nutrition Today. Vol. 57, Number 3, May/June 2023.
• Doris Howes Calloway Improving Food Composition Tables. Nutrition Today. Volume 57, Number 4, July/August 2022.
• Doris Howes Calloway: Contributions to US Department of Agriculture Human Metabolic Research. Nutrition Today. Volume 57, Number 5, September/October 2022.
• Doris Howes Calloway: Her Work and Legacy on Nutritionally Vulnerable Populations in North America. Volume 57, Number 6, November/December 2022.
• Doris Howes Calloway: A Multi-country Study of the Impact of Moderate Malnutrition. Nutrition Today. Volume 58, Number 1, January/February 2023.
• Doris Howes Calloway: An Exemplary Administrator and Leader. Nutrition Today. Volume 58, Number 2, March/April 2023.
• Doris Howes Calloway: Impact on National and International Food and Nutrition Policy. Nutrition Today. Volume 58, Number 3, May/June 2023.

 

Celebration Corner

Zalom receives DPR Lifetime IPM Achievement Award 

Frank Zalom, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus and former director of the UC Statewide IPM Program, recently received the Lifetime IPM Achievement Award from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. 

At CDPR's IPM Achievement Awards virtual ceremony on Feb. 29, Zalom, who retired in 2018 from the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, was praised for “advancing IPM practices in California specialty crops as a preeminent researcher, practitioner and champion of sustainable pest management.”

“Dr. Zalom's work has contributed greatly to advancing safe, effective, and sustainable IPM practices in specialty crops such as almonds, strawberries, tomatoes and olives,” a CDPR spokesman said. “Through hundreds of presentations and publications, Dr. Zalom has contributed to broad adoption of IPM practices for numerous agricultural pests, resulting in less insecticide use and reduced run-off impacts and high-risk pesticide exposures.”

State Sen. Bill Dodd issued a proclamation stating, “Dr. Zalom's distinguished 40-plus year career as a leading researcher, practitioner and advocate for integrated pest management has significantly propelled advancements in this crucial field. The state formally recognizes this remarkable accomplishment and extends gratitude to Dr. Zalom for his exceptional contributions to the welfare of both California and the global community.”

• Full Ceremony: https://youtu.be/XEMKD04bDT4  
• Video honoring Frank Zalom: https://youtu.be/oXc8OcQivLI
• Remarks from Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry: https://youtu.be/o4xnXyPn7e8

Read more at https://entomology.ucdavis.edu/news/frank-zalom-lifetime-ipm-achievement-award-california-department-pesticide-regulation. 

Long, Mueller and Smith honored for career achievements

On Feb. 6, the California Chapter of the America Society of Agronomy recognized the career achievements of three emeritus farm advisors: Rachael Long, Shannon Mueller, and Richard Smith.

“It is incredibly rare for the Chapter to honor three UC members in one year, let alone three Cooperative Extension advisors,” said Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, California ASA past president and UCCE Delta crops resource management advisor for San Joaquin, Sacramento, Yolo, Solano and Contra Costa counties.

Long retired as a UCCE farm advisor in 2023, after 37 years of doing research on crop production, pollination and pest control in collaboration with farmers, starting in Sonoma County, then San Joaquin County and the last 32 years in Solano, Sacramento and Yolo counties. 

Mueller, who retired from her 31-year career in 2019, was a UCCE advisor in Fresno County and director of the UCCE Fresno/Madera Multi-County Partnership. Her work with alfalfa seed and pollination resulted in current practices.

Smith, who retired in 2023 from his 36-year career as a UCCE farm advisor, mostly for San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, continues to contribute his vegetable crops and weed science expertise.

Read more at https://ucanr.edu/News/?routeName=newsstory&postnum=59008 

Alameda County thanks Blackburn for partnering on nutrition and health

Mary Blackburn, UC Cooperative Extension health and nutrition advisor for Alameda County, received a certificate of recognition from Alameda County 

“The certificate award is to recognize you as a partner for having done so much to support the work of Nutrition Services and the Alameda County Nutrition Action Partnership (CNAP),” Annette Laverty, interim associate director of Alameda County Nutrition Services, said to Blackburn.

“Your name was raised up to the AC Public Health Department's Community Health Services' Division Director and staff as someone who has maintained high standards of service, in partnership, to the community,” Laverty continued. “You have been so instrumental in collaborating with the ACPHD and AC Area on Aging over the years to develop actionable, integrated work plans and helping to put the plans into action. Your talents in writing and editing have been an incredible help, especially when deadlines have loomed.” 

Laverty credited the prestigious awards the CNAP has received to Blackburn's attention to grant and award opportunities.

“You were instrumental in applying for these awards, which made it possible for our collaborative to be recognized,” Laverty said. “You're an inspiration to me and many other professionals in our field!”  

UC ANR recruits UC Davis students

The Human Resources and Business Operations Center teams partnered to table at the UC Davis Internship and Career Center Winter Career Fair on Feb. 21. They engaged more than 100 students as they promoted job opportunities offered by UC ANR. 

“Students expressed interest in several facets of UC ANR's work, from business and IT in agriculture, to economic development, to soil and water science,” said Elizabeth Bezark, customer service and projects analyst. 

To entice students to talk with them, ANR staff brought a prize wheel that students could spin to win ANR logo items. 

“An economics and agriculture double-major in her second year of a bachelor's program won an ANR drawstring bag and took a BOC flyer,” said Bezark. “'An environmental science major won an Environmental Stewards Program patch for their denim jacket and grabbed an ANR Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program brochure.”

Serena Rae Brady, Anna Lee and David White from Human Resources worked the table along with BOC's Kathy Hanke, Alexa Ocegueda and Bezark. Katie Kilbane worked with them to prepare for the event.   

Vernard Lewis featured on KTVU's Voices for Change

For Black History Month, Vernard Lewis, UC Cooperative Extension urban entomology specialist emeritus based at UC Berkeley, spoke with Greg Lee on KTVU's Voices for Change on Feb. 25. His fascination with insects began while playing outdoors during the seven years he lived with his grandparents in Fresno. 

Lewis recalled that his high school counselor in Minnesota told him he wasn't college material. Lewis took the insult and used it to fuel his ambition. He asked the counselor which was the best university in the country. “UC Berkeley,” the counselor replied. Lewis set his sights on UC Berkeley, where he earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees.

Lewis, who retired in 2017, became the first African American entomologist hired at UC Berkeley. The last 26 years of his 35-year career he was a UC Cooperative Extension specialist and he continues to work with UCCE specialists and advisors. 

Throughout his career, Lewis promoted diversity in science, giving presentations at Oakland public schools to pique students' interest in science. He and his wife Lisa Kala continue to strive to create a more diverse and inclusive university environment by supporting the HBCU Environmental Scholars for Change Program, which provides visiting undergraduates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities an opportunity to conduct research with Rausser College faculty.  

Lewis' interview on Voices for Change starts around 18:30 at https://www.ktvu.com/video/1416404.

 

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